May 19, 2022

This paid event listing is sponsored by the Home Builders Association of the Sioux Empire Inc.

Jesse Deffenbaugh remembers standing where the back wall of a home’s great room now stands and saying to the future owner, “This is going to be your view.”

The home, set near Spring Creek Golf Course at 47915 Hadley Lane, is a four-bedroom, 4.5-bath and no ordinary walkout ranch.

“It’s got a great main level, which also includes a courtyard, pool and covered patio space,” said Deffenbaugh, operations manager of Deffenbaugh Homes.

“A lot of homes have pools in Sioux Falls now, and a lot of people think they want walkout lots, but that pool entertainment area always ends up on the lower level. At this house, you can be making dinner on a Tuesday and go sit at the pool or fire pit. If that’s on the lower level, it’ll never happen. Here, they’re going to use it all the time.”

Those design touches and that vision highlight the need for buyers to connect with builders – the idea behind the semiannual Parade of Homes event from the Home Builders Association of the Sioux Empire.

Its first weekend drew more than 1,500 visitors to the more than 40 homes available to tour throughout the Sioux Falls area. It wraps up from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Deffenbaugh’s home is one of two featured homes that definitely bring a “wow” factor to the tour. Click here to see how to get there.

“We’re very focused on timeless design,” he said. “This is a traditional home with more transitional pieces. I like a house where I can come back in 10 years and say, ‘This still looks like a really good house.’”

His company’s pipeline is as full as it has ever been, he said.

“We’re not taking on any remodels until late fall or winter, and with our backlog for the first time ever we’re already booking into next year,” he said.

In 2023, his company plans to focus its efforts on homes going up in its latest development, The Sanctuary in northeast Sioux Falls. Deffenbaugh Homes is opening up 140 lots there – by far its biggest project to date.

“The way I look at it, if we’re turning away business it’s not because of interest rates or not being able to get windows. It’s because we don’t have lots to build on,” Deffenbaugh said.

“So if we want to help our business, that’s what we need to do. And we’re keeping a lot of the natural terrain, trees, waterways, ponds, and they’re big lots – three-quarter-acre-plus – so we’re not taking a pie and saying how many pieces can we get out of this.”

For the first time in memory, “buyers’ expectations are realistic,” he continued, adding they are recognizing the challenges presented by supply chain and labor shortages.

“We’re very honest with budgets and what things cost,” he said. “It’s all going up. From your lightbulbs to your appliances to windows, and it’s across the board.”

Much of it is inflation-related, he added. And increased labor costs could still be ahead.

“We’ve seen the start of it in our market, and that’s a big thing to watch as things progress.”

The influx of out-of-state relocations has been a huge portion of his business, he added.

“We have a foundation we started this week, we have one more we’ll do midsummer and two at the end of summer, and they’re all from out of state – a little bit of everywhere – Minnesota, D.C., South Carolina,” Deffenbaugh said.

“I think the big thing is for people to stay optimistic. We overcame a pandemic. We have problems every day, but we’re still doing pretty darned good.”

For details on the final weekend of the Spring Parade of Homes, click here.

Tours of the featured homes are $5 and raised more than $6,000 during the first weekend for the Home Builders Care Foundation.

Featured ‘Parade’ home blends modern, warm feel with indoor-outdoor living